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Biomedical subjects

J K Ludwicki

Publications and source records attributed to J K Ludwicki.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Relationships between sperm DNA fragmentation, sperm apoptotic markers and serum levels of CB-153 and p,p'-DDE in European and Inuit populations.

Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) are suspected to interfere with hormone activity and the normal homeostasis of spermatogenesis. We investigated the relationships between sperm DNA fragmentation, apoptotic markers identified on ejaculated spermatozoa and POP levels in the blood of 652 adult males (200 Inuits from Greenland, 166 Swedish, 134 Polish and 152 Ukrainian). Serum levels of 2, 2', 4, 4', 5, 5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153), as a proxy of the total POP burden, and of 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (p,p'-DDE), as a proxy of the total DDT exposure were determined. Sperm DNA fragmentation was measured by using the TUNEL assay, whereas immunofluorescence methods were utilized for detecting pro-apoptotic (Fas) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl-xL) markers. Both TUNEL assay and apoptotic markers were statistically differed across the four populations. No correlation between neither sperm DNA fragmentation nor apoptotic sperm parameters and the large variations in POPs exposure was observed for the separate study groups. However, considering the European populations taken together, we showed that both %TUNEL positivity and Bcl-xL were related to CB-153 serum levels, whereas our study failed to demonstrate any relations between DDE and %TUNEL positivity and apoptotic sperm biomarkers (Fas and Bcl-xL) in any region or overall regions. These results suggest that CB-153 and related chemicals might alter sperm DNA integrity and Bcl-xL levels in European adult males, but not in the highly exposed Inuit men. Additional issues (genetic background, lifestyle habits and characterization of total xeno-hormonal activities) need to be investigated in order to fully assess the population variations observed.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Time to pregnancy as a function of male and female serum concentrations of 2,2'4,4'5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (p,p'-DDE).

BACKGROUND: Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POP) may affect both the female and male reproductive system in animals as well as in humans. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from pregnant women and their partners from Greenland, Warsaw and Kharkiv, and from a cohort of Swedish fishermen's wives. Blood samples were analysed for 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (p,p'-DDE). Information on the participants' fertility, measured as time to pregnancy (TTP), was collected. In total, 778 men and 1505 women were included in the analyses. RESULTS: The data from Warsaw, Kharkiv and the Swedish fishermen's wives indicated no effect of either male or female exposure to POP on TTP. However, among men and women from Greenland, there seemed to be an association between serum concentrations of CB-153 and p,p'-DDE and prolonged TTP. Due to the strong intra-individual correlation between CB-153 and p,p'-DDE in the Greenlandic population, it was not possible to determine whether the risk was associated with CB-153 or p, p'-DDE or was an interaction between the two compounds. CONCLUSIONS: The overall results of the present study create a somewhat ambiguous pattern, but give some support to the idea that dietary POP exposure might be harmful for couple fertility.

Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene↗
PubMed2001

Studies of early hepatocellular proliferation and peroxisomal proliferation in Wistar rats treated with herbicide diclofop.

A study was performed to determine whether diclofop (2-(4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) phenoxy)propionic acid), introduced as a herbicide, exhibits the properties of peroxisome proliferators (PPs). Diclofop was administered orally at 7-56 mg/kg body weight per day to male Wistar rats for 2, 4, 7 or 14 consecutive days and some effects regarded as early hepatic markers of PPs were studied. The early changes in rat liver, produced by short-term treatment with diclofop consisted of mitogenesis and, time- and dose-related increase in liver weight. Hepatomegaly was typically associated with proliferation of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) and peroxisomes. The parallel biochemical measurements showed that there was a dose-dependent increase in peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation and catalase activity in treated rats. Markers of hepatocellular proliferation (S- and M-phase) indicated that mitogenesis was transient and declined despite continuation of diclofop treatment. The threshold exposure level for the palmitoyl-CoA oxidation (one of the peroxisome proliferation markers) was approximately the same (14 mg/kg body weightxper day) as for the stimulation of mitogenesis in Wistar rats. However, for hepatomegaly and catalase activity the threshold exposure level was 7 mg/kg body weightxper day. The results presented here demonstrate clearly that diclofop belongs to a class of rodent PPs.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

[High performance liquid chromatography: application in pesticide residue analysis].

Chromatographic techniques allow separation and quantitation of trace levels of organic compounds in different matrices. Chromatography is widely used in many scientific areas, including food safety. Currently, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and related techniques have become the dominant analytical separation tools in such areas as pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries and environmental monitoring. Contrary to gas chromatography (GC), HPLC allows to determine low-volatile and thermolabile compounds. A variety of packings and bonded phases as well as eluents and their combinations make this technique very useful in analysis of food contaminants, including pesticide residues. Plant protection products, called commonly pesticides, contain biologically active substances having wide mode of action, used in crop protection and in many other areas. Unfortunately, besides advantages related to their use, it should be taken into account that they are also toxic for humans and environment. As general population is exposed to pesticides mainly through the food, it is necessary to monitor concentrations of these compounds using sensitive techniques for ppm or even ppb levels. This article discusses the advantages of HPLC technique for the residues analysis of some active substances of plant protection products.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed2001

[Comparative study of the effect of synthetic pyrethroids on the induction of genetic changes in mice somatic and sex cells depending on the exposure route].

Synthetic pyrethroid insecticides are widely used in the protection of fruits and vegetables as well as in the public hygiene due to their strong neurotoxic activity against insects. The induction of genetic changes in somatic and sex cells in male mice after different routes of exposure to permethrin and fenvalerate was studied. The male 8-10 weeks old mice were intraperitoneally exposed to 20 and 40 mg/kg bw of fenvalerate and 125 and 250 mg/kg bw of permethrin. Another groups of mice were exposed per os to fenvalerate and permethrin in the doses of 50, 100 and 200, 400 mg/kg bw respectively. For the sperm anomalies testing the exposure was repeated for five consecutive days followed by the 35 days waiting period after which the gonads were removed and spermatozoa prepared from the epididymis. The changed spermatozoa were counted in the smears after staining in the 0.5% eosin Y solution and the results compared with the number of normal cells. For the testing of the effect of pyrethroids on the micronuclei frequency in the bone marrow cells the tested substances were administered twice in 24 hours intervals and the bone marrow was sampled after 6 and 24 hours from the femur bone. The polychromatic erythrocytes and the presence of micronuclei were evaluated in the bone marrow smears. The results showed the difference in the action of the pyrethroids on the genetic material of the tested cells and the effect of the route of exposure. Permethrin induced the lesions in the sex cells regardless the route of exposure, however a substantial increase in the micronuclei frequency in the bone marrow was observed after oral exposure only. No signs of cytotoxicity accompanied the sperm anomalies and micronuclei induction. Fenvalerate induced changes in sperm cells after intraperitoneal exposure only. No increase in the micronuclei frequency in the polychromatic erythrocytes of the bone marrow was observed after per os or intraperitoneal exposure. The intraperitoneal exposure to this pyrethroid resulted in cytotoxicity in both bone marrow and sex cells.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2000

Early hepatic changes in rats induced by permethrin in comparison with DDT.

In this study permethrin [(3-phenoxyphenyl)-methyl-3-(2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dim ethylcyclopropanecarboxylate] and DDT [1,1-(2,2,2 trichloroethylidene)-bis-(4-chlorobenzene)] were compared in rats for their effects on early hepatic changes, proposed in the literature to be useful endpoints in screening for non-genotoxic hepatocarcinogenesis and/or liver tumour promotion. We compared the effects of both insecticides on the following endpoints: hepatomegaly, mitogenesis (DNA synthesis, mitotic activity, percentage of binuclear cells) and liver pathology. Male Wistar rats received permethrin (PERM) or DDT in one, three, five and 14 daily oral doses (at 24-h intervals) equivalent to 1/10 LD50. Distinct differences in early liver response between PERM and DDT were observed. DDT stimulated the early effect consisting of hepatomegaly accompanied by an increase in hepatocellular proliferation with signs of cell necrosis. Thus, it might be concluded, that the mitogenic effect of DDT was at least partly related to a regenerative liver response. Although PERM significantly affected DNA synthesis and increased binuclear hepatocytes, this compound did not increase the number of mitotic figures. These results suggest that PERM may inhibit of phase G2 in the cell cycle and consequently it may suppress the cell entering into the stage of mitosis (M-phase). In addition, the present findings provide evidence for the occurrence of abnormal mitoses in the hepatocytes of rats treated with DDT.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Organochlorine pesticide residues in tea].

Organochlorine pesticides still exist as environmental pollutants in many countries. In this paper, the results of monitoring of organochlorine pesticides in teas taken from the Polish market in 1998 year are presented. The monitoring included analysis of organochlorine insecticides and their metabolites (sigma DDT, sigma HCH, HCB, Heptachlor, Epoxide heptachlor, and Aldrin) in samples of black and green tea, and fruit tea. The mean concentration of the organochlorine compounds in the black tea ranged from 0.0002 to 0.003 mg/kg of product, and in the green and fruit teas from 0.0001 to 0.003 mg/kg of product depending on the pesticide. In no case the violation of the Maximum Residues Limits was observed. The results obtained in this monitoring did not differ from the results reported by the other authors.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

[Selected aspects of xenoestrogens'mode of action taken from a group of persistent organochlorine compounds ].

The presence of many chemical pollutants in the environment and their potential impact to human health creates rather justified anxiety. Many of these pollutants feature such unwelcome characteristics as: persistence in different environmental media, ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in individual food chains, as well as ability to undergo long-range atmospheric transport. Compounds meeting these criteria include above all a large group of persistent organochlorine compounds. Recently, debate has increased concerning endocrine disrupting activity of these compounds and especially their ability to produce biologic responses comparable to those of endogenous estrogens (e.g., 17 beta-estradiol). It has been hypothesized that these compounds, among others, may be associated with increased incidence of breast cancer and other estrogen-related cancers in women due to increased proliferation of breast epithelial cells. The organochlorine xenoestrogens may produce this effect following binding to a hormone receptor (with or without metabolic activation) or by affecting the 17 beta-estradiol pathways leading to increased formation of more potent estrogenic metabolites. Numerous studies performed since early 1990s have examined the relationship between organochlorines levels in serum or adipose tissue and breast cancer, but the results are not consistent. This may be caused by various criteria of selecting the case and control groups, different compounds analyzed or different statistical approaches. None of these studies included endocrine disruptors' exposure in early and critical stages of development--from conception up to puberty age--the results of which would manifest in far future. Nevertheless the results of measurements, especially in adipose tissue are more reliable for this purpose because they reflect the whole life exposure and may be recognized as one of many environmental risk factors of cancer development.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1999

Effect of changes in excretion of persistent organochlorine compounds with human breast milk on related exposure of breast-fed infants.

This study was an attempt to identify if there are any trends in excretion of 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers alpha-, beta-, and gamma-, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), [1,1,1-trichloro-2, 2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane] (p,p'-DDT), [1,1-dichloro-2, 2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane] (p,p'-DDD), [1,1-dichloro-2, 2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene] (p,p'-DDE), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with human milk during lactation. The shortest lactation studied took 16 weeks, and the longest 84 weeks. Three hundred fifty-two milk samples, collected from each donor once a week, were examined. The analysis of the result showed individual differences in the excretion of the compounds. The findings from this study are not conclusive enough to claim that there are consistent trends showing a decrease or increase in the excretion of the compounds under examination. Thus, one cannot claim that the infants' exposure to those compounds decreases or increases as breast-feeding continues.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Levels of organochlorine insecticides in citrus fruits in 1996-1997].

The monitoring of organochlorine insecticides (HCB, HCH, and DDT) in citrus fruits taken from the market was carried out in 9 regions in Poland in the years 1996-1997. The concentrations of the insecticides were measured in the edible part and in the peel separately. The total number of 331 samples of oranges, lemons, grapefruits and mandarins were subjected residue analysis. The mean concentrations of the organochlorine compounds in the edible parts amounted 0.0002 mg/kg for HCB, and ranged from 0.0081 to 0.0247 mg/kg for sigma HCH and from 0.0041 to 0.022 for DDT depending on the product. The highest contrentrations together with the highest violation rate (9.5%) of the Polish Maximum Residue Limit was found in case of DDT. The mean concentrations of the insecticides in the citrus peels were not markedly higher than those in the edible parts. The results obtained in this monitoring did not differ from the results reported by the other authors.

Citrus↗
PubMed1998

[The evaluation of urine and hair total mercury content in occupationally exposed and non-exposed people].

The study aimed at the evaluation of total mercury content in hair and urine of the workers occupationally exposed to various levels of mercury vapours. The hair and urine were taken from the workers employed in Chemical Plant Oświecim and from thermometer factory in Warsaw. The urine and hair of non-exposed Warsaw inhabitants served as a reference. Mercury levels in hair and urine were determined with atomic absorption spectrometry. The highest mercury concentration in hair (range 1.13-325.16 micrograms/g) and urine (range 15.7-800 ng/mg of creatinine) of workers employed in processing chloroalkali in Chemical Plant Oświecim. The results also suggest that the average mercury concentration in hair (0.17 and 1.0 microgram/g) and urine (0.4 and 2.36 ng/mg of creatinine) of non-occupationally exposed inhabitants from Warsaw and Oświecim does not endanger human population. Nevertheless a positive correlation between distance from chloroalkali plant in Oświecim and mercury content in the specimens from inhabitants has been observed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

[The effect of nuarimol on the mutagenic activity of n-nitrosodimethylamine and 2-acetylaminofluorene in mouse erythrocytes].

Nuarimol, the structural analogue of DDT, similarly to other polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons, induces monoxygenase activity. N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) belong to chemical compounds exhibiting strong mutagenic and carcinogenic properties followed the metabolic activation. Genotoxic activity of promutagens, including NDMA and 2-AAF depends on the activity of monoxygenase enzymes. The study aimed at clarification of the effect of nuarimol on the mutagenic activity of NDMA and 2-AFF in in vivo micronucleus test. The experiments were performed on Swiss mice, which were exposed to nuarimol or Aroclor 1254 (as the positive control) followed by the exposure to NDMA or 2-AAF. The micronuclei were counted in the bone marrow polychromatic erythrocytes and in the erythrocytes of the peripheral blood. The results show that NDMA as well as 2-AAF induce failures in the genetic material in the bone marrow cells. Nuarimol given to the mice before the exposure to NDMA or 2-AAF did not cause changes in the micronuclei frequency. However, the prior intoxication by Aroclor 1254 resulted in the increase of the number of erythrocytes with micronuclei induced by NDMA in bone marrow and peripheral blood. This effect has not been observed in the mice intoxicated by 2-AAF prior to Aroclor 1254.

2-Acetylaminofluorene↗
PubMed1998

[Genetically modified organisms (GMO): toxicological aspects].

The genetically modified organisms (GMO) are one of the major public concerns partially due to the activity of the non-governmental organizations which believe that public opinion must be duly informed on what leaves the laboratories and enters the environment or is proposed as food. This article discusses some major toxicological and nutritional aspects of GMO designed as food for humans. The range of current use of GMOs, potential hazards for humans, safety assessment, allergenic concerns, and some aspects of the use of marker genes are discussed in regard to human safety. The need for relevant regulations is stressed.

Food↗
PubMed1998

[Monitoring of pesticides residues in food in Poland].

In this paper, the results of monitoring of pesticide residues in food products are reported for the 3 years period 1995-1997. The monitoring included analysis of organochlorine compounds (DDT and its metabolites--DDD and DDE, HCH isomers alpha, beta and gamma, HCB and PCBs), pyrethroids and dithiocarbamates in variety of food products such as: milk and milk products, food for infants and children, fish products, potatoes, domestic fruit and vegetables, citrus and exotic fruits, which were taken from the market. The samples were collected from 15 regions of Poland. Mean values of sigma DDT and sigma HCH in food products of animal origin, including children foods, were much lower comparing with those, reported in previous years. Only few samples analyzed had violative residues exceeding Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for these compounds. In none of food samples of plant origin, organochlorine compounds residues exceed Polish tolerances. The residues of synthetic pyrethroids were detected in none of tested samples of potatoes. Mean concentrations of dithiocarbamate pesticides in fruit and vegetables were higher than observed at the beginning of 1990s. In five samples of leaf and stem vegetables, the detected levels of dithiocarbamates exceed or were equal to MRLs.

Foodborne Diseases↗
PubMed1997

The effect of fenarimol on marker enzymes in rat liver in two-stages model of hepatocarcinogenesis.

The two-stage model for the development of early markers of hepatocarcinogenesis was applied to assess the potential of fungicide fenarimol (alpha-(2-chlorophenyl)-alpha-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-pirimidinemethanol++ +) as a possible promoter in this process. In this experiment the rats were subjected to partial hepatectomy (to induce proliferation), followed by the single (50 mg/kg bw) dose of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) (initiator) and then, followed by the 26 weeks exposure to fenarimol administered in the olive oil suspension (250 mg/kg daily). The activities of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGTase), glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) and alkaline phosphatase (APase) regarded as markers of early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis were measured biochemically and histochemically in the livers of exposed rats as well as in the respective positive and negative controls. Rats exposed to 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), instead of fenarimol, served as positive controls. It was found that in the full initiation/promotion regimen both 2-AAF and fenarimol induced the increase of GGTase activity in the liver and formation of GGTase-positive hepatocytes. However the exposure to fenarimol alone also increased GGTase activity, although this response was not observed in rats exposed to 2-AAF alone. The possible mechanisms and explanation for such types of responses were discussed, and conclusion has been drawn that fenarimol did not affect the rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by PH and DEN.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗